chubby girl grows up to become a gorgeous actress with oomph and attitude-rising telenovela star Iza Calzado has a life story that's as riveting as the hottest soap operas around.

It seems that primetime viewing will even get hotter this 2004:21-year-old Iza Calzado is all set to make some serious waves as the lead actress in GMA Network's Te Amo, a soap opera which stars airing this month.

When the idea of having her own soap opera was presented by the GMA Artist Center last June, Iza refused to believe it. "It felt surreal, but I got excited. Pero parang kinabahan ako. I knew a project this big meant competition. Kung hindi sa akin mapunta. I might as well shut up. I kept quiet. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that a project is never really, really yours until you've actually taped for it."

But it seems that the head honchos of one of the country's leading networks are confident that Iza can pull it off. "For GMA to take a risk and put her in the lead speaks of her star quality," says Lilibeth Rasonable, producer of Te Amo. "She has the 'it,' X-factor. You see it immediately when she walks into a room. She has the height. Her beauty shines through even with little makeup."

Now, with three months worth of daily episodes in the can, Iza can now claim that Te Amo is really and truly hers. In this charming, modern-day Cinderella story, the young actress plays Rosella has a wicked stepmon, a wicked stepsister," explains Iza. "Inaapi-api siya. Tapos, all she wants is love. And then she finds her prince…"

Her face is already quite familiar, having graced the ads of Pantene shampoo two years ago. "Sabi nga noon ng friens ko, sikat na raw ko-ang laki-laki raw kasi ng mukha ko doon sa C-5!" Says Iza, referring to a gigantic billboard on that particular highway. After landing lead roles for television and soon appearing in the movies (Milan and Annie Batumbakal), Iza is living out a career that she never thought would be possible.

NOT CUT OUT FOR SHOWBIZ?
Iza is the second the youngest child of choreographer and TV director Lito Calzado, and the late Mary Ann Ussher who was half-Spanish, half-Filipina (she dies when Iza was 19). Iza, short for Maria Isadora, was named after her father's idol, Isadora Duncan, the American pioneer of modern dance. Iza's brother, Dash, is part of the rap group Legit Misfitz. "Kami 'yung pamilyang showbiz," Iza says with a giggle.

When Iza was a little girl, she often tagged along with her father to TV tapings and film shoots. At age seven, she went into commercial modeling and landed small roles in Seiko movies, one of which was directed by National Artists for Film Lino Brocka. "It was nice," Iza says of her short child-star stint.

Yet Iza always believe that she was not cut out to be an entertainer, much less a star. "I thought I didn't have talent," she reasons. "I was into acting. Singing-let's leave it inside the banyo! Dancing? I just dance inside my room or when I got to bars and discos. I never had any formal training. So, parang I felt, what did I have to offer?"

Cinching the lead in the Pantene ad (with her memorable endearing rendition of the line, "Sexier daw, o!") changed all that. "While shooting the commercial, five of the people from the agency in Malaysia told me: 'Why don't you try acting? We think you have potential?'" Iza recalls. "That got me thinking…"

BAD GIRLS GO EVERYWHERE
Once her commercial began airing offers to guest on television shows began to pour in, and soon after she was signed up by GMA Network's Artist Center.

For her first major assignment, the regal-looking Iza was given the role of Febe, a bad, bad balikbayan beauty, in the defunct soap Kung Mawawala Ka. In the show, the young mestiza cruelly masterminded kidnappings and even the outright murders of the good guys.

Iza says that she didn't mind being cast as the anti-heroine. "At that time I felt, 'why not?' I didn't enter showbiz because I wanted to become 'a star.' I didn't want to become bida."

One could say that as the kontrabida, Iza made soap opera fans sit up and take notice-a mean feat for girl who's never had any formal training in acting.

"Looking back, I don't know how I created that character. I entered no workshop whatsoever," Iza admits. "I just tapped into the bitchiness that I had in me, from my personal experiences, from what I saw on TV and in gangster movies. It so happened that Febe, medyo gangster girl-eh I love gangster movies-Scarface, Godfather, Goodfellas and all that."

Iza recalls a particular scene which was shot by director Joel Lamangan 20 minutes straight, without any cuts. "It was a tuhog scene. It was like we were doing a play," says Iza. She must have really gotten into her character because when Iza, her ex-boyfriend, and her brother watched it on television, they noticed the unusual way with which she was holding a gun. "Hindi pa-straight, galing sa itaas, patusok, pababa. I was holding the gun the way gangsters do!" describes Iza. "Sabi ng brother ko,' Ano 'yan?' Tawa nang tawa kasi para akong thug!"

Now that she's playing a good girl in Te Amo, Iza says she misses being Febe badly. "Sabi ko nga 'pag ngayon ko ginagawa si Febe, nagalingan ko pa! Ngayon ko naa-appreciate si Phoebe."

SEGUE TO SEGUNDO
Even then, Iza welcomes the chance to give life to the somewhat shy and timid Rosella. "It's so far from Febe! Si Febe nag-e-English; si Rosella hindi marunong mag-English. Si Febe, bitchy; si Rosella, she takes everything and follows everything.

"In this soap nangangapa talaga ako. I'm always crying and it's so hard to cry! Sabi nga ni Ms. Jaclyn [Jose], ni Jomari, madali nang umiyak pag natutunan mo na. Paano madaling umiyak, e tubig yon?" Iza says incredulously.

Apparently Iza is doing a good job in Te Amo as well. "I was pleasantly surprised to disvoer na ang babaw ng luha niya. Ang bilis umiyak," noted Rasonable. "In terms of acting, Iza's gone a long way from where she started."

Director Khyrss Adalia is all praises. "Iza's a very sensitive actress. Matalino, malalim. Ang pag-arte niya nanggagaling sa puso. She does her homework. Hindi ako nahirapan sa pag-direct sa kanya."

Playing "prince" to Iza's Rosela is Segundo Cernadas, the hunky star of the popular Mexican telenovela Monica Braca. Iza says the dashing Argentinina is a joy to be with, on and off screen. "I only have good things to say about him. He's the type of guy that girls would really fall in love with," says Iza. "he's a gentleman. Sobrang palabiro. I keep telling him, 'You're Filipino, you just don't know it!" he's very accommodating."

During the months of taping the two lead star of Te Amo have gotten to be close and comfortable enough that Iza can count on Segundo to be honest when she needs him to be." Like, I could ask him if there's anything stuck in the middle of my teeth." Iza laughs. "I would just flash this awkward smile and he would understand. Now, like me, he always brings dental floss wherever he goes."

Whether or not she's dating Segundo, Iza would rather not says. People wonder whether the affection they show each other in public is for real or just a publicity ploy. "I want to marry her," Segundo says jokingly on the phone to this writer. Iza playfully goes along and pipes in," As long as you wear a tux and not a barong on our wedding day!"

Iza has recently gotten out of a serious four-year relationship, and frankly, she says, the dating scene scares her a bit. "Kasi okay lang if I meet a guy and naging friends kami ang we started going out… Pero 'yung ise-set up ka? Hindi ko yata kaya…" But Iza quickly takes it back. "Hindi, kaya ko! Kayang-kaya ko! Lalaki lang 'yan! Pero… hindi lang ako sanay (mag-date)."

When asked if she's anything like her onscreen persona, a demure lass who's waiting for a real-life Prince Charming to come and sweep her off her feet and save her, Iza' inner Cosmo chick emerges. She says, "Save me from what? He doesn't have to save me from anything. I'm happy where I am. But like my character Rosella, I dream of being treated like a princess. I think that's every girl's dream. But a girl can treat herself like a princess. If the right guy comes along, a girl can be happy all by herself."

FROM FLAB TO FAB
Looking at the glamorous and svelte Iza preen and pose for photographer Toto Labrador, it's hard to imagine that she was once a pudgy teenager who was called "Baboy! By a kid on the street. Says Iza, "That's one thing that a lot of people don't really know. I was big in high school. By the time I was 15, I was 220 lbs!"

Iza says she loved food so much that she didn't notice she was reaching a stage that she describes as "'Yung mataba na hindi na cute, nakakatakot na talaga."

She says, "Sobrang lakas ko kumain! Purom meat, puro chips, puro midnight snack, puro sweets…Lahat! Wala akong tinatanggihan! Ampalaya lang ang tinatanggihan ko!"

Until one day, she was stricken with chicken pox and had to stay home for two weeks. When Iza returned to school, her classmates noticed that she lost weight. "Doon ko naisip, 'Ay, 'yun lang pala 'yon!' So I started eating less which led to eating almost nothing in a day…"

Iza confesses that she went on a crash diet of water and crackers, which she eventually realized wasn't healthy for her at all. "It was really bad! Nag-yo-yo ang weight ko," says Iza, then sternly adds, "Come on, please do not, do not do that! Crash dieting really doesn't work."

What ultimately got her on the road to healthy was a change in lifestyle. By the time she was 19, her weight had steadily tapered off. "I started going to the gym. I started eating vegetables, eating healthy…"

She now weighs about 120 lbs, but maintains that she's still working hard to reach a Vina Morales-like figure. To keep fit and trim, the young actress also plays badminton, goes swimming and does aerobics. "I love aerobics!" she gushes.

IF THOSE BOYS COULD SEE HER NOW
If there's anything that Iza's thankful about her weight struggle, it's the fact that it taught her to become friendly and kind. "I was a cool fat girl, if I may says so!" she exclaims. "I was voted Teddy Bear of my batch in Miriam High School.

I was always nice and people loved me. Ako raw ang pinaka-warm, pinaka-sunny."

She points out, "You notice how the chubby girls are always sunny. 'Yun kasi ang laban mo: ugali. You're trying to make an effort because that's the only thing that you have against all these other pretty women."

She admits that she gets thrill when she sees how some guys she knew in high school are so surprised to see the new Iza. "Ang sarap, alam mo, priceless! Kahit bayaran mo ako ng isang milyon, hindi ko ipagpapalit…Mukha nila talaga, hindi makapaniwala…May mga guys na alam ko na nanglalait behind my back-sila yung gusting-gusto kong nakikita. Not for anything. Not for anything, hindi ako nagmamalaki, hindi naman ganon…Gusto ko lang Makita 'yung panghihinayang sometimes."

MORE OF HER TO LOVE
The best thing about losing weight is not the surprising stares she gets from others, but the feeling of satisfaction she's found in herself. "I am more confident," says Iza. She's so happy that she's learned to appreciate her body and accept her own body type. "Sabi ko nga kay Tita Oro (Elizabeth Oropesa), kahit anong gawin naming, hindi kami magiging kasimpayat ni Wilma {Doesn't, who plays her best friend in Te Amo}. Kahit bali-baliktarin natin ang mundo, kahit hindi ko kumain ng ilang araw. My hips are my hips! They're just there, baby!"

But Iza admits that this acceptance took her a while. Even if she had lost 100 lbs by the time she was 19, she wasn't confident she could ever be a model. "One day, my friend just dragged me to a commercial modeling agency. They took an interest in me, but I was really self-conscious. Every time I was sent ton a casting and I didn't get the part, I felt that it was because I wasn't as thin as the other girls."

Until her defining Pantene moment. The call for her first "VTR" or test shoot came three days after he mom was buried. Even is she wasn't really keen on going, she tried it out anyway. "I saw it as a sign from my mom." Iza recalls. "She was frustrated actress kasi." She got the part after her third VTR and was sent to shoot the commercial in Malaysia in January 2002/

Fat or thin, Iza insists she's still the same girl that her friends knew from way back. "Sabi ko nga sa kanila. 'Diyos ko, pumayat lang ako! I haven't changed, Makulit pa rin ako!"

As if to bring home her point, Iza says while she's posing for the camera: "Pagkatapos nito, kain tayo ha!"

SEIZING THE DAY
When she's not working, Iza spends her time reading, watching TV, and hanging out with friends. "I love clubbing!" she says. "And I'd like to enroll in a dance class when I find time."

She speaks passionately when she talks about her future plans: "I'm thinking about going back to school to take up film or something related to acting and I'd really love to put up my own restaurant because I love food!"

But right now those plans will have to wait, since the her life is all a flurry with her budding television career (Iza tapes for Te Amo four times) in week all the way in Ternate, Cavite.) "Now, I want to focus on my career," says Iza. She knows how fickle and unstable show business could be so she just welcomes every opportunity. "Ngayon, pag may sinasabi sa akin, 'Iza, may ganito kang offer…' Ako, 'O sige, tara!'"

Whether it's a chance to show what she's got, learn something new, or simply enjoy herself, Iza's sure to sign up for it.

"Life is just so wonderful, you just have to seize the day!"- -